Cord or rope



(Specimens.)

Patented Nov. 29, 1887.

[f/TMSSES.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE..

FRANK M. BECKFORD, OF LACONI, NEV HAMPSHIRE;

\ n' CORD OR ROPE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 373,959, dated November 29, 1887.

Applicdition tiled July 2, 1886. Serial No. 206.950. (Specimensl To all whom it' may concern .f

Be it known that I, FRANK M. BEcKFoRD, of Laconia, in the county ot' Belknap and State of New Hampshire, have invented cert-ain new and useful-Improvements in Cords or Ropes, of which the following is a specification.

The object of my invention is to produce a cord or rope of any size or dimensions having a fibrous body or core and a wire covering, which shall be at once strong and .flexible and to all intents and purposes nonfextensible and non-contractible, and in which the brouspo'rtion will be wholly protected from frictional wear, and which will not be affected by'the condition of the atmosphere, as regards contracting or shrinking or expanding or lengthening,'in the uses for which it is especially designed.

To these ends my invention consists in the article hereinafter fully` described, and subsequently set forth in the claims.

Of the accompanying drawings hereto annexed and forming a part ol' this specification, Figure 1 represents a section or portion of my improved cord or rope, drawn to an exaggerated scale. Fig. 2 represents a moditied form of the invention, and Fig. 3 an end View.

-rIhe same letters refer to the saine parts in all of the figures.

In carrying out my invention I take a core, a, of fibrous material and of any suitable character or construction, but necessarily of a iexible nature, and weave closely therearound strands b of flexible Wire. As shown in Fig. 1, I prefer to use the covering-wires in pairs, braiding or winding one-half of the number of the pairs spirally about the core in one direction, interweaving or interlocking them with -the other pairs (at the interlacing-points) braided or wound spirally about the core in the other direction.

By the terminterweaving77 I mean that each pair ol' Wires passes, say, first under the pair with which it first intersects, then over the pair with which it next intersects, under the next intersecting pair, and so on throughout theentire structure of the cord, as isclearly shown in Fi'g. l. I may Vary this structure, however, by passing each wire of each pair at each intersecting point over one of the intersccting wires and under the other, as shown in Fig. 2, though this manner of braiding the Wires about the core is not so readily accomplished as that first mentioned.

It is obvious that, instead of using the wires in pairs, I may employ them singly in the same manner that l have described for using them in pairs.

In all cases I provide a fibrous core, a, and

so tightly braid or wind strands of wire, b, therearound as to make it doubly strong, and so closely in opposite directions interlocking or` interweaving them at their intersecting points as to completely cover the core, and thus form a closely-braided externaljacket or covering for the complete cord or rope, and though in the drawings it'is represented that there is considerable space between pairs of strands of the two series for the purpose of clearly illustrating the structure, in actual practice the wires are so closely braided about the core as to completely cover it, protecting it from abrasion and frictional wear, or from being burned by heat generated by friction orin any other Way.

A cord or rope thus constructed can be easilyand cheaply manufactured and is quite as flexible as would be the core alone,'while it is very strong by reason of the fact that both the core and wire covering operate to sustain the tensile strain to which the cord may be subjected. Furthermore, a cord or rope as thus constructed is not easily affected by the weather or moisture in the atmosphere, and hence it is well adapted for use in connection with take-up devices employed in machines for the manufacture of textile fabrics, or in similar connections Where any stretching or shrinking of th'e cord is a very serious objection. In this conncction,'and pertaining to the same atmospheric changes, it is particularly adapted to use for the transmission of power from one building to another, where ordinary 4ropes are now used and are so affected by rain as to -be very often broken from contraction, and in dry weather so stretch as to compel the use of extra devices to tighten them or take up the slack caused by such expansion.

I am well aware that therehave heretofore been devices patented to cover this objection and also for use as guys for derricks-namely, wire cables, or cables made from Wire; but it has been demonstrated by practical use that in long distances these cables cannot be used IOC , on aceount of their great weight, while my wire covering adds practically nothing to the weight, while it fully protects the rope or cord from frictional wear and all influence of atmospheric changes. In this connection I would also call attention to the fact that my cord is well adapted to use as a bell-rope for cars, where it is now found that the rope or cord of ordinary construction when used in rainy weather will not stand the shrinkage of the distance of six cars when running around a curve.

As pertaining to use of a cord or rope where the prevention of shrinkage and contraction is not so much of an object as the prevention of frictional wear, I would call attention to the use of my invention as window-cords. For this purpose it is not only very ornamental, but substantially indestructible from frietional wear. I would say that in an actual test of over a million movements over a pulley with weights attached to the cord no perceptible wea-r was shown.

My cord may also be used with great advantage where it would have to slide between thejaws of a gripping device, as in certain reescapes, where, in addition to the absence of frictional wear, the covering protects the cord from the llames.

It may also be mentioned that my improved cord or rope is well adapted for many other household and factory usessuch as servants7 bell-ropes, bands for jacks, and the like-as it is ilexible, strong, easily cleansed from dirt and dust, is proof against destruction by moths and other insects, and is substantially non-errtensible.

I am aware that it is not new to incorporate wire in the structure of cords and ropes and to wind and braid it therearound in various ways.

I am aware of English Patent No. 7,816, O. L., in which it is proposed to construct bands, ropes, and lines by the introduction thereinA of wire, for the purpose of increasing the strength of such articles, said patent discovering also a rope or similar article havinga core composed of a number of strands of diiierent materials, over which is platted or braided (though at quite wide intervals) wires, which are again covered with a coating of strands of fibrous material intermixed, if desired, with caoutchouc, and that in some instances it is proposed to interlace or interk nit the strands of wire with the ibrous strands, and, furthermore, that wires are shown in said English patent as planted or interlaced upon the core or in the body, so far as their intersecting points are concerned, substantially as hereinbefore described by me; and I therefore do not broadly claim the described manner of braiding, platting, or interweaving wires into a cord or rope, yirrespective of the point at which they are made into such article or the closeness or compactness with which they are braided or platted thereabont.

I am also aware of other patents showing and describing cords and ropes composed of fibrous material in which wire is incorporated in various ways, and I therefore do not claim suoli structure, broadly, but confine myself to the construction shown, described, and pointed out in the claims, whereby the core or body of the cord is completely covered with wire in such manner as to prevent abrasion or gripping or other contacting things from catching therein, protecting it from injury by heat or friction, and rendering it at the same time thoroughly iiexible and to all intents and purposes entireiy non-extensible.

Having thus fully described my invention so that others skilled in the art may be able to make and use the same, I claim- 1 A cord or rope consisting of a core of fibrous material havinga series of wires closely braided therearound to entirely cover the core and form a closelybraided external jacket or covering for the completed cord or rope by passing substantially 011e halt` of such wires in pairs spirally around the core in one direction and the other half, also in pairs, around the core in the opposite direction, interlocking or interweaving the wires in the manner described at their intersecting points in such a lnanner as to prevent frictional wear and also prevent said core from expansion and contraction, as set forth.

2. A cord or rope consisting of a core of fibrous materialhavingaseries of wires closely braided therearound to entirely cover the core and form a closely-braided external jacket or covering for the completed cord or rope by passing substantially one half of such wires formed in pairs spirally around the core in one direction and the other half, also formed in pairs, around the core in the opposite direction, interlocking or interweaving the pairs at their intersecting points so closely and in such manner as to protect the core from frictional wear and atmospheric changes, as regards to shrinking or lengthening, by passing each pair of wires rst under the pair with which it first intersects, then over the pair with which it next intersects, under at its ncXt intersection with a pair, and so on throughout the entire structure ofthe cord or rope, as set forth.

In testimony whercofIhave signed my name to this specification, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses, this 20th day of May, 1886.

FRANK M. BECKFORD.

Witnesses:

II. S. DUFFIELD, XVM. MOCREADY.

IOO 

